Naruto: Road to a Ninja Rewrite

Menma becoming evil due to loneliness and neglect simply because he's supposed to be Naruto's his counterpart doesn't hit hard enough to make sense of his behaviour and it's for that reason that I offer you the following concept and explanation instead.

In the alternate world through Obito's vision, there's no reason for Obito to be evil in this reality, for Rin, the woman he loves, lives and breathes. Instead, in this reality, Obito became a hero of the Great Ninja War and is a trainer within the hidden leaf village whether married or still harbouring an unrequited love with Rin.

Regardless, Rin and Obito are close and they've often discussed his time with training his students. Amongst Obito's students is Menma, Sakura and Sasuke. Obito in this reality? He's the same stubborn and righteous guy he was before the world broke him and in this reality, he's the only person who sees Menma when nobody else does.

Obito and Menma are close. Obito is Menma's Iruka Sensei equivalent. He's like the brother he never had. The sibling that saw him while he experienced neglect at home. Obito would ask Lord 4th for his time and presence on the behalf of Menma but to no avail as the life of a Hokage is such a busy one. In his stead, Obito visits him at home and trains him ever during off hours.

Rin hears countless stories of how Menma is this great kid who is overlooked and has it rough because his parents are never available for him. Rin hears the truth amongst the noise, Obito sees Menma like that of a son of his own, his favourite student and the one he connects with the most. However, as we know. Obito died in the alternate reality and it was his death that paved the course for a certain grey haired ninja we know and love.

Kakashi. Kakashi hasn't experienced a grief strong enough to lead him astray from the Anbu for he didn't lose Obito in the Great Ninja War, nor did he attain Obito's sharingan and as such, Kakashi still lives behind a mask, emotionless, calculated, weaker and following orders by the letter. It is for this reason that Kakashi who knows Obito better than anyone else, is ordered to dispose of Obito.

Why would Obito he targetted by the Anbu? Because Donzo wants the sharingan for himself and with Obito as the poster child of the Uchiha, the village trusts them and doesn't make them feel like outcasts. With Obito gone, Donzo can spread rumours and distrust amongst the villagers to encourage the same rebellion driven agendas amongst the Uchiha that lead to their eradication in Naruto's reality.

Does Kakashi do it? Without hesitation. Kakashi lures his target out to where no one will see him because Obito trusts him and what was supposed to be a friendly conversation becomes a confrontation. Obito is already aware of the fight that's about to take place because an Uchiha within the Anbu leaked the information to him before they themselves fled the village. Who was his informant? Itachi told Obito the truth before abandoning the village knowing the Anbu would hunt him.

Itachi then joins the Akatsuki who in Menma's reality are still peacekeepers, not terrorists and Obito is left to fight Kakashi. Obito can't bring himself to kill Kakashi and Kakashi is unwavering in his loyalty to the Anbu. Obito dies, Kakashi feels grief for the first time and retrieves Obito's eyes for Donzo. But before Kakashi can take the eyes to Donzo, Menma confronts the killer of the only person who truly saw him when nobody else did.

Menma knew something was wrong, I had a hunch and tailed them. Kakashi has no choice, he fights Menma. In Menma's pain and grief, he awakens his Uzumaki rinnegan and puts a swift end to Kakashi. With Kakashi's dying breath, he exposes the truth. He informs Menma about Donzo's plans and how he was behind it. Something he felt he has to say for what he had done to someone he didn't realiS just how much he loved until he killed him.

Enraged, Madara Uchiha finds Menma through Zetsu and brings him and his rage to him. It is then that Menma is manipulated in every way that Obito once was. Who is there to stand in Menma's way? The Akatsuki. Are they enough? No. With the eyes of Obito and his Uzumaki lineage awakened within him, Menma is a force to be reckoned with. The only person who manages to reach him without Naruto's crossover interference? Rin. The only person who loved Obito as much as he did.

But like Naruto's story. Zetsu plots to betray both Menma and Madara. Only this time, when the truth unfolds, Menma is too strong for even the likes of Kaguya and loses his life when fighting her on his own. A death he deems worthy in penance for all the destruction he caused in his blind revenge against all who took his sensei from him. A penance for the destruction he caused under the intention of creating a new world where Obito is alive.